WIN THIS: A Fiber One Prize Pack

A couple of days ago, I signed up to be a guinea pig for General Mills. They're rolling out a new Fiber One 80 Calories cereal and (through MyBlogSpark) they sent some my way—along with a pedometer and iPod armband. Take a look:

Now, as you know, I don't promote anything and everything on my blog. And I always...always give you my honest opinion. So we'll start with the following: 1) I love cereal. 2) I'm very picky about the cereal I eat. 3) I can't always digest fiber. 4) No, really...digesting fiber is sometimes not fun for me.

I was a little nervous about trying a cereal that boasts an ability to provide 40% of my dietary fiber requirements in one fell swoop. Egads, my poor stomach. But, I know that fiber is good for me. There are two types: Soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibers absorb water and essentially swell up inside of you. Insoluble fibers pass right through. Both, for lack of better description, scrape your stomach and intestines ever so gently to aid the digestive process. And they take longer to digest. Yes, this is a good thing, mostly because it means we'll stay full for longer. And the better we digest our foods, even if it's a slow process, the less issues we have inside us and the more we benefit from said foods. And if we're eating healthy, all the better our workouts will be. (For an excellent article from WebMD that details all there is to know about fiber, click here.)

Back to the cereal. It had me at "honey" so I poured myself a box for lunch today, and promptly added half a banana because half a banana in my cereal makes me oh-so happy. See:

First impression? Tasty. Sweet enough that even your kids might eat it, which actually had me very curious about the ingredients. Tons of sugar, right? Not really, and no high fructose corn syrup. Just sugar and honey and some added sucralose, which also makes me nervous when it comes to my digestive track. I have a hard time with sweeteners other than sugar and honey. But, so far...so good. It's been about an hour. Usually any problems kick in right away.

On top of the flavor, it was pretty crunchy, too.

So with the added skim milk, it comes out to 120 calories per bowl. Add the bananas and you'll up it even more, which is acceptable because bananas are good for you. And let's face it, an 80-calorie meal is not so much a meal at all. So don't be afraid to add that fruit to bump it up a notch.

Do I recommend this cereal? Yes. Fiber One, you impress me with your 80-calorie cereal. But, I do note: I almost always prefer oats when I'm headed for cereal, but sometimes life gets the best of you and you just don't have time to pull a bowl of it together. And that's where boxed cereals come into play. If you pick the right box, you'll be fine.

But you have to pick the right box. If there's marshmallows in it...probably not the right box at all. But you already knew that. Right? Right!

So here's the good news: You, too can test out this tasty creation. Leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite way to get more fiber into your diet. Please include your email address. In the event that you win, I'll need to get in touch with you for your mailing address. If I can't get in touch with you, you can't win!

Oh, and here's a few more ways to win:
1) Like Fiber One on Facebook.
2) Like A Daily Dose of Fit on Facebook.
3) Subscribe to A Daily Dose of Fit emails.

Best of luck! Contest ends at midnight EST on Friday, July 29, 2011. I will announce the winner on Sunday, July 31, 2011. Looking forward to your entries, as always. Until then, I'm going to take my pregnant belly to the beach. Yep, still sportin' the two-piece. Watch out, beach! Here comes the bump!